The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1887-02-26
HAWAIIAN NOTES.

a somewhat rougher one than usual,
involving unpleasant experiences in
the way of seasickness, for which,
however, we felt amply compensated
by the pleasures enjoyed while on
the islands,"
What interested you most?
Well, first, the great difference in
the fora and foliage from anything
we had ever before seen; second,
the volcano of Kilauea; and, third,
the resources, commercial interests
and governmental administration.
The flora is thoroughly tropical and
wonderfully varied and luxuriant.
On entering the harbor of Honolulu
one can hardly believe that a town
of 10000 inhabitants is hidden
among the trees and groves before
you and their graceful forms and
unfamiliar names bring home to you
the fact that you are indeed in a
strange and foreign land.
Is the climate oppressingly warm !
Oh, no; the temperature ranges
from 80 to 80 in the day time and
from 20 to 80 at night and is very
uniform all the year round.
Is the Volcano near Honolulu!
No; Honolulu is on the Island of
Oahu, and the active volcano is on
Hawaii, about IA miles inland, and
something more than hundred
miles from Honolulu. 1t is Won
derful place and you know is the
largest accessible crater in the
world, being nearly circular in form
and nine miles in circumference.
Was it active during your visit?
Well, we thought SO, although as
compared with the tremendous dis
plays that sometimes occur, | sup
pose it was comparatively quiet at
the time of our visit; still we saw
enough to shake our nerves and en-
title the show to rank as the great
est sight of lifetime. We de-
scended into the crater and spent
several hours in its cavernous
depths. Its hot and smoking lava
burned our shoes and faces as we
cautiously followed our guide over
places hard and firm enough to bear
us up, but under which we could
feel the great waves and surges of
white hot lava dashing and roaring,
shaking the thin crust on which we
walked, and forcibly suggesting
cremation. One place of about an
acre, fell in few moments after we
crossed, and the boiling mass over
flowed the path we had just come,
and we frequently crossed great
assures from which the heat and
steam came up from lower depths.
We stopped several times at holes
in the crust, into which one could
look upon and sometimes reach with
our stick the molten lava, but the
heat and sulphurous fHme could be
endured for only nm instant when
retreat became imperative. We
spent four days at the Volcano
House, which is just on the edge of
the crater-a very well managed and
comfortable place; then went on
horseback to Hilo, thirty miles
away, over the toughest sort of
trail across old fields of lava from
former eruptions. Spending five
days at Hiio, we took the inter-
island steamer and returned to
Honolulu.
The resources of the Islands are
mainly agricultural and horticultu-
raj, especially the latter; but hardly
any attention is paid to anything in
this line except sugar cane. Every
body has gone wild on sugar maxi
ing, while many other productions
requiring far less outlay to intro
duce and successfully produce, are
given no attention.
You spoke OF the government,
how did this impress you?
Well, as very much of farce.
The Hawaiian Kingdom is the only
place / know where the intelligence,
the wealth and the material inter-
ests of the country are almost en-
tirely unreprescnted in the Govern
ment, while the ignorant, supersti-
tious, indOlent aud immoral element
makes the laws, assesses the pro-
perty and spends the revenues. The
foreigners, who do all that is done
toward developing the trade and
resources of the Islands, and pay
most of the taxes, are uneasy and
FESTIVE, but divided in sentiment and
feeling. The Americans, English,
Germans and French, each wish
their own country to have the most
influence, as ali recognize that
change of government is only a
question of time, and that at the
rate the natives are dying out, with
the admitted evils of the present
administration, that time cannot be
far off, The American element is
numerically the strongest, and its
influence should be most potent,
but the policy of the American Gov
eminent is so narrow and insular
that its own citizens in foreign lands
feel no assurance of even moral
support in any effort to promote